Buffets can be great! Rather than looking at it as a problem, look at the opportunities it gives you to choose healthy foods, in a healthy amount, rather than having a huge plate full of meat and potatoes put in front of you, with few vegetables.

My DH took me to a buffet restaurant yesterday for Valentine's Day - my choice - and I pre-planned what I would choose, stuck to my plan, and came away full of healthy foods and proud of myself.

Here are some of the tips that work for me: - drink lots of water with your meal; avoid alcohol - start with the salad bar - stay away from pasta salads, potato salad and other pre-mixed salads with mayonnaise-based dressings. Instead, choose raw vegetables (I take lettuce, tomato, cucumber, chick peas, beet slices, mushrooms, carrots). If there is meat on the salad bar, take grilled meats, shrimp, mussels. - for the main course - avoid everything deep fried. Choose grilled meats or fish, fresh vegetables without sauce. If you have to have potato, choose oven roast if available. - for dessert, go back to the salad bar and choose fresh fruit. Allow yourself one piece of your favourite cake, pie or whatever so you don't feel deprived.

This is going to sound weird, but I live in a country where buffets don't exist, so I have very little practice with this! When we went on vacation to a different country this Christmas, we went to a buffet and this is what I did:

- first plate was all salad stuff. They had a big vat (lol) of lettuce and then a few other salad bar type options so I made like three salads on my plate, and realllllly piled it on.

- second plate, I chose a really tiny portion of a variety of dishes but skipped anything that I thought didn't look good. Then I took a really small taste of each dish and just didn't eat the ones I wasn't crazy about -- which meant I left about 1/3 of the food on my plate - this is very unlike me, as I usually eat everything on my plate, but because I knew that the food was unlimited, and I had only taken tiny portions, I didnt' worry about it. I had told myself that I would go back for more of whatever I had really liked, but after eating all that salad, I was full.

- I skipped the bread entirely. For dessert, my husband and I split a piece of apple crumble and I let him have most of it.

It ended up just fine. It was still higher calorie than a normal meal but I think I did great. And now I probably won't have a buffet meal for several years!

Dragonchilde, great advice! I will defintiely use those tips whenever I eat out at a buffet again. Most of the time when we visit my father in law and his wife, they take us put to a buffet style restuarant. I never eat desserts there, but the 2 plate guideline you have sounds like something I would have no problem doing. I love vegetables.

"The good things donít always soften the bad things ó but vice versa ó the bad things donít necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant." Doctor Who Series 5: Vincent and the Doctor SW: 232 CW: 203.2 LGW: 150

Start with a plate of vegetables! I always have a round of nothing but veggies. Fill up FIRST on those. Pick carefully... sometimes the veggies can be sneakily unhealthy. Salads are good, but watch the dressings and addons. You can ruin a good salad with too much crap.

I do two plates.

1) FILL with vegetables, always some broccoli if it's available. Broccoli fills you up and leaves you full for real.

2) Enjoy the things I want. I can have the fried chicken, but just one piece. Otherwise, I go for baked or steamed whatevers. And I always add at least another half a plate of veggies.

Filling up on vegetables makes it harder to go overboard.

I also skip the dessert, or choose something very small as a treat. Chocolate dipped strawberries are my favorite, although that's a Golden Corral thing. :)

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013